RWI/ISL-Container Throughput Index remains upbeat

22.03.2017

Trend

published on: 23.03.2017

During February 2017, the Container Throughput Index of the RWI – Leibniz Institute for Economic Research and the Institute of Shipping Economics and Logistics (ISL) increased by 0.5 points, reaching 124.5 points. It thus seems that world trade has gained a solid momentum. Compared to the same month a year ago, the index stood 6 points higher. A similarly strong increase was last observed in 2012.

This month, a new seasonal adjustment procedure has been implemented to take into account the impact of the Chinese New Year holidays more precisely. This should improve the quality of the RWI/ISL index during the months January and February. Whilst the change of the methodology slightly hampers comparisons with previous issues of the index, it does not affect the overall assessment of the health of the global economy in a negative way.

The flash-estimate for February is based on data reported by 33 ports, accounting for close to ~ 64% of the total index volume.

The RWI/ISL-Container Throughput Index for March 2017 will be released on April 25th.